I was just reading an article about the problem and it mentioned something I hadn't noticed…or I guess I had noticed it but I hadn't realized what I was noticing.

I did notice that the spelling in most of the unwanted e-mails I happen to read is generally atrocious. It hadn't dawned on me that this is deliberate in order to fool some kinds of spam-filters. The spammers type "viagara" instead of "viagra" because some filters will instantly label any message containing the latter as spam. I just got an e-mail that spelled "penis" as "penís." The accented "i" gets it past many blocking mechanisms. In other words, the more illiterate a message is, the better its chance of reaching (and therefore, communicating) with someone.

There's something kind of odd and almost poetic about this occurring as our means of contacting one another becomes increasingly high-tech.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist wants a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Has anyone ever calculated the follow-through rate when prominent politicos call for a Constitutional amendment? I doubt it…but I'm guessing it's well under a thousandth of a percent.

Quick: When was the last time a move to amend the Constitution went the distance and actually occurred? Answer: 1992. And that was a provision with no opposition whatsoever — a technicality about Congressional paychecks.

Before that, the last amendment that actually was passed was to lower the voting age to 18, back in 1971. I recall very little opposition to that one. And before that, it was another uncontested, no-opposition change about presidential succession in 1967.

It's been close to 40 years in this country since we've passed a Constitutional amendment that had more than token opposition. But every week, when some Supreme Court decision or act of Congress doesn't go their way, someone's on Meet the Press, saying we need and will pass a Constitutional amendment undoing that loss.

I doubt even Dr. Frist thinks we'll ever see an amendment like he describes. He just thinks it's good politics to say that. It makes his supporters think the battle is not over and that if they keep throwing campaign contributions and efforts at Frist and his party, something will happen. But since that amendment is never going anywhere, it won't do much to energize the opposition.

My pal Aaron Barnhart is not only the TV critic for The Kansas City Star but a longtime follower of David Letterman and late night TV. He thinks Letterman should go to a four-day work week. I think Aaron's right — but only if Dave will allow guest hosts who stand at least a chance of doing a good show.

Here's an article about the release of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In on home video. There are stills and RealVideo clips, including the one of Richard Nixon saying, "Sock it to me???"

By the way: If anyone needs proof that Dan Rowan is dead, it's right there on the cover of the DVD. It says, "Produced and created by George Schlatter." I dunno who created the show but I know that if Rowan were alive and he saw that, he'd be chasing someone with a pickax.

Wile E. Coyote gets all his equipment from them. Why not order something from The Illustrated Catalog of ACME Products?

…but for God's sake, don't give them decent pay or benefits. Here's an editorial on how the White House is fighting several current attempts to boost compensation to servicemen and even to the families of those who die in battle.

Watch for an announcement — later this week or next — that Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick have been signed to star in the motion picture version of The Producers, based on the Broadway show which in turn was based on the motion picture of The Producers.

The story I always loved about Katharine Hepburn went roughly like this: She was starring in the musical Coco at the Mark Hellinger Theater. This was in late 1969. The show was not great — a far cry from the same librettist's My Fair Lady at the same theater — but audiences flocked to see it. Because it was Hepburn, and how often did you get to see Hepburn? I wish I had, but the closest I got was nodding to her in recognition as we crossed paths one day on Central Park South, right in front of the St. Moritz.

Evening performances of Coco were joyous but for a time, the matinees were a little rough. Next door was a construction site and a big, noisy building was being erected. After several afternoon performances were marred by the sounds of jack-hammers and rivet guns, the producers of Coco appealed to the construction company. It was only a matter of a few hours every Wednesday afternoon but the construction company said no; they had a building to build.

So Ms. Hepburn took matters into her own hands. She donned a hard hat, went next door and joined the construction workers for one of their coffee breaks. She told them the problem, passed out a few free tickets and asked them — pretty please — could they find quieter tasks to do during her Wednesday matinees? The workers were charmed by this tough but regal lady and agreed. For the rest of the run of Coco, a whistle would be blown just before curtain on matinee day. Airguns and heavy machinery would go silent and other, gentler work would be done until the workers saw the audience leaving the theater. Burly construction guys, it was said, actually tip-toed. And if someone raised his voice, everyone would tell him to shush and they'd point to Hepburn's picture on the marquee.

That's how I always heard the story, which is not to say I believed it. Something about it struck me as just too "public relations office" to be completely credible.

Then a few years ago, I was with my friend Sergio and his wife, Charlene. Charlene was one of the dancer-actresses in Coco, and somehow the name of Katharine Hepburn came up. Before I could ask about the construction site story, Charlene said, "She was wonderful. Everyone thought so…even the construction workers next door." And she told the story about Hepburn putting on the hard hat and going over to ask them to hold it down.

I love it when one of those stories turns out to be true.

Is your spam getting chummier? I mean those unsolicited ads that turn up like cyber-cockroaches in your e-mailbox. Mine used to have subject lines like, "Get rich quick" and "Hot babes waiting for you." Those weren't quite as annoying because you could delete them without even opening them. So now the Spammers are doing their best to trick you into thinking they're sending you a normal e-mail exchange. They enter a subject line that says, "Here's the info you requested" or "As we were discussing" or "You're right about that."

Another fairly recent trick is the intentionally misdirected message — the one that looks like you accidentally got someone else's e-mail. You get a message intended for "Steve" that says, "Here's the password to that great secret X-rated website I told you about. Use it but don't let anyone else know." Someone has been recently been sending me a bevy of stock tips that were intended for "George" and which say they're based on top-secret insider info. It's like I'm getting spammed by Martha Stewart.

Spammers are annoying but sometimes they're creative. I just got one with the subject line, "Are you hard at work?" I guessed what it was but couldn't resist actually opening the e-mail to check. Sure enough: An ad for Viagra.

Does anyone out there have copies of scripts from the old Jay Ward "Fractured Fairy Tales" cartoons? If so, could you drop me a line? Thanks.

Here's what's up with the new show by Harold Prince, John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim.

Bill Clinton on the situation with the F.C.C. giveaway ruling. (Thanks to master illustrator Dan Gheno for the link.)

As mentioned a few items back, I saw Fred Travalena this afternoon at the Hollywood Collectors Show. I love impressionists and Fred is one of the best…one of those guys who surprises you not only with his range but with the way he gets inside whoever he's doing. There are some samples of his fine work over at his website.

Frank Kelly Freas isn't really a comic artist. He's an award-winning illustrator and painter working primarily in the areas of science fiction and fantasy. But he did wonderful covers for Mad Magazine for years and that's a good enough reason for me to direct you to his website.